Futuristic Contact Lens Camera

Futuristic Contact Lens Camera

Could the beginnings of making a real Six Million Dollar Man be in the process right now, says Ronn Torossian – CEO of 5W Public Relations.. The Six Million Dollar Man was Steve Austin from the 70’s hit show of the same name. Mr Austin was severely injured in an experimental air craft test and doctors used space aged technology to rebuild some of his body with superhuman parts, specifically his left eye.

google contact lense

Google recently announced the possibility of embedding a miniature video camera in contact lenses which could change the way many seeing impaired people view the world. The patent, which was filed by Patent Bolt ,is just one of many inventions that Google and Babak Parviz, creator of the controversial Google Glass, seem to be working on.

Continuing in the same mold as the recently announced contact lens that can monitor glucose levels of diabetics the video embedded lens will be able to aid those with vision impairments by using the camera to help them to “see” what is going on around them. Google and Parviz are out to use technology to make life easier for everyone.

The patent calls the device an “image capture component” which is a fancy way to say camera. The super small “image capture component” will be mounted on or in the lens and
will be controlled with blinking gestures and other means. According to Patent Bolts filing the video camera will be ‘”configured to generate raw image data corresponding to a gaze of a wearer of the contact lens….”

In lay mans terms, as the users gaze changes the camera would follow without disrupting the wearers vision. In theory the lens may be able to take the place of the eyes aiding millions without sight by having the camera integrate with an Android device so the wearer could be warned of street intersections and even prevent them from falling off the curb, through a series of warning signals.

In a more frivolous use of the “image capture component” could allow someone to turn the pages of their ebook or flipping through their music library with the blink of an eye. The invention does seem promising but since most patents filed never make it to market this may be one of them. On the other hand the time from patent filing to a consumer ready product sometimes takes years. The major shortcoming seen by critics is how to power the video camera.